US Aviation Investigator Rips Boeing Over Alaska Airlines Blowout — But Retail Still Backs CEO Ortberg

Boeing (BA) stock drew retail attention on Tuesday after the U.S. government investigation report found lapses in providing adequate training, guidance, and oversight by the planemaker to prevent the mid-air incident of an Alaska Airlines flight last year.

The National Transportation Safety Board criticized Boeing’s safety culture and pointed out its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 aircraft during production, which resulted in a door plug blowing out of the aircraft midair. According to a Reuters report, the investigators also condemned the Federal Aviation Administration's ineffective oversight.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy reportedly said at a board meeting that the incident could have been easily avoided if the planemaker had addressed unauthorized production found in several internal audits, reports, and other forums at Boeing for at least a decade.

"It's nothing short of a miracle that no one died or sustained serious physical injuries," Homendy reportedly said.

The company's flagship 737 Max jets had already gained a poor reputation following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. The Alaska Airlines incident led to renewed scrutiny of Boeing, and the U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation, declaring that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

Since then, the FAA has introduced a 38-per-month production cap on 737 Max output, which it reached for the first time since 2023 last month.

The FAA said it has fundamentally changed how it oversees Boeing since the Alaska Airlines door-plug accident, and “will continue this aggressive oversight to ensure Boeing fixes its systemic production-quality issues."

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding Boeing stock was in the ‘bearish’ (31/100) territory, while retail chatter increased by over 7%.

“New CEO has been improving the safety culture,” one user said.

Boeing stock has gained 12.7% this year but is down 1.6% over the past month after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Air India, crashed and claimed the lives of almost all passengers on board, barring one.

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